elegy
noun
a mournful, melancholy, or plaintive poem, especially a funeral song or a lament for the dead.
elegies
-
pluralof elegy.plural
The grammatical form denoting more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Ashura processions are usually dramatic affairs, with chanters singing elegies or dirges dedicated to Hussein, while audience members beat their chests and engage in displays of mourning.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026
Especially via elegies for men lost in battle over the past 250 years, the poems measure and celebrate the cost of nationhood.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 19, 2025
"But I felt as if I were writing elegies, actually."
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2023
The participants, mostly wearing black clothes, beat their chests and recited elegies in the commercial heart of Srinagar.
From Washington Times ● Jul. 27, 2023
It is from poetry that the elegies of Catullus derive almost all their tenderness—his amorous verses all their delicacy, playfulness, or voluptuousness—and his epigrams all their sting.
From History of Roman Literature from its Earliest Period to the Augustan Age. Volume II by John Dunlop
